US-based network and IT software solutions provider Alepo has announced that Somcable has officially launched 4G LTE technology in the Somaliland region, in collaboration with Airspan. Somcable has
deployed an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) platform alongside a fibre-optic Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) to enable the firm to offer high speed fixed and mobile broadband services to commercial and residential customers. Alepo provided Somcable with a convergent online charging and billing platform, while the pair have also entered into an agreement to include a policy control solution that has enabled LTE network monetisation immediately upon launch. ‘Somcable is dedicated to improving the lives of the citizens of Somaliland with the most robust and innovative telecommunications services,’ said Somcable’s CEO Abdourahman Mohamed, adding: ‘A combined LTE-A solution from Alepo and Airspan gives us the foundation we need to expand our services into new mobile broadband markets and technologies in ways that connect and empower our region.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Somcable was founded in 2009 and holds an exclusive 25-year licence for the rollout of Somaliland’s first fibre-optic infrastructure, while the concession also includes individual operating and spectrum licences for last-mile access deployments. Registered in Djibouti and Somaliland, Somcable is deploying a terrestrial fibre-optic network to allow Somaliland to interconnect to the region’s submarine cables, including the Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy).